The Ties That Break Us
by othtwilightfan21
Summary: This takes place five years after they graduate high school. Everyone went to different colleges. Lucas went to school in North Carolina. Brooke went to California. Peyton went off to an art school in New York. Nathan went to Duke and Haley went to Boston
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One: Breakaway**_

The doorbell rings and Haley jumps in surprise. It's 11pm and she is not expecting anyone. She goes to the door and looks out the peep hole and sees a tall handsome blonde man standing at her door. Haley sighs with relief knowing that it is only her best friend Lucas. Lucas and Haley have been best friends for many years. And their relationship has grown since the years after they have left Tree Hill High School.

"What are you doing here so late? You are going to wake up Landon. Plus I thought that you were staying in Charlotte for the weekend with Hannah."

"Yeah, things didn't really go the way that I planed." says Lucas as he walks inside Haley's two bedroom house. Haley leads Lucas into the kitchen and gets two glasses out of the cupboard and walks over to the frig and gets a soda. Lucas continues, "Yeah, me and Hannah kind of broke up…"

"BROKE UP!!!!! You two just started getting serious! Luke, this is the third girlfriend that you have been with since you and Peyton broke up. What is the problem?" yells Haley. And as she sits there looking at her best friend she can't think of anything to help him. She wants to help him but how could she help him if she can't even help herself. Here she is a single mother and hasn't been with anybody since her and Nathan (Her ex and father of Landon) broke up.

"Yea I know what this looks like but it wasn't even my fault. Hannah was cheating on me. And the way that I found out was when she was in the shower her cell phone rang and I picked it up. It was some guy on the other line. So I asked him if he wanted to leave a message. So guess what he tells me."

"What did he say?"

"He says "tell her that I couldn't get the reservations for dinner Monday and that I'll call her later." So I confront her on it and she lies at first then she breaks down and tells the truth that she was sleeping with this guy from work and she never wanted to hurt me" " I don't know what to do Hales, I really though that she was the one this time and that we were really going somewhere."

"I am so sorry Luke. You can crash here as long as you want. So just crash on the couch, okay?" suggest Haley.

"Thanks, you're great, you know that. So night Hales see you in the morning."

"Night Luke and trust me things are going to get better."

"I hope your right Hales."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two: Breathe**_

"You gotta wake up or you're gonnna be late for your meeting"

"I'm coming you know it takes me a while to get going" says a short haired Brooke Davis. Brooke got up and stretched while looking in the mirror at the women she has become. For one her appearance is slightly different, she has short hair now and is tanner than before. But the biggest thing that has changed is that she is now a successful fashion designer in California who is going to be late with her meeting with Vera Wang.

"Do you want breakfast or are you gonna get something on the way?" yelled Rachel.

Rachel moved in with Brooke when she moved to LA and is aspiring actress acting on a daytime soap.

"No, I'm too nervous to eat anything. If I do I might just throw it up on her"

"No you won't. You're going to do great just be confident and positive and she will love your work."

Brooke was showing her first ever wedding inspired line to one of the most influential wedding designers ever and it was understandable that Brooke was nervous. Up to this point the only thing Brooke was designing was clothes for the young and fun crowd, and now she was going to put herself out there and establish herself as a serious designer. Yea, she was nervous.

"How do I look?" Brooke said to Rachel. She was wearing her white power suit with her black Jimmy Choo's and a black top.

"Powerful"

"Yea thanks, what time to you have to be on the set anyway?"

"I have to be there at 1 but Max is picking me up so we can have lunch together"

"You guys are playing a couple on T.V, do you have to be one in real life too"

"Life does imitate art. Or is it the other way around? Oh, your mail is on the kitchen table, I think there's one from Tree Hill"

Brooke goes downstairs to the kitchen as Rachel turns around and heads back to her room. She hasn't heard from anyone from high school except Mouth but that was about a year ago. Brooke saw the letter on the table and from afar she just knew it was from home, but who was it from? She picked up the letter and it felt as if she had a brick in her hand and stomach. The letter was from Haley. Now that was a name she hasn't heard or read in a long time. She opened the letter with ease and read the letter. She had to re-read the letter just to make sure that she had read it right. Then the letter fell to the ground and Brooke stood there with the look of horror and pain on her face. Rachel came into the kitchen and saw her standing there

"Who was it from? What happened? Brooke? Brooke, what's wrong?


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three: It's Not Over**_

"PICK IT UP! HUSTLE, HUSTLE, HUSTLE!!!" yells a very red Nathan Scott. "You guys gotta start playing like you want it. Hey Smith, what was that? How could you let him pass you like that? Sit down!"

"But Coach…."

"But nothing. You have been lagging for awhile. Just take a break and we will talk about it later. As for the rest of you, if you wanna win you gotta show a little heart and push it. That's it for today, hit the showers."

As his teams retreats to the locker room Nathan sits on the bench with his head in his hands just thinking about that practice he just went through. Just remembering how it was for him to make the transition from high school basketball player to a college player. It was hard for him with the whole Haley situation but he got through it with the help from Whitey and his mom and his friends. He tries not to think about what happened but he sometimes finds his mind wondering and it ends up on that subject. Being 23 and already a divorcee, fathering a child and not even knowing what happened to him, losing touch with his only brother and watching his father get away with murder. Yea, every time Nathan finds himself thinking about how his father got away with the murder of his uncle Keith, it just eats him up inside. All because his father's lawyers said that what he did was a result of Keith sleeping with Deb drove Dan crazy and everything thing that he did since then he hasn't been in his right state of mind. That was a bunch of bull Nathan though. Let it up to Dan to find a way out of a tough situation.

"Hey Coach, you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yea Smith. What is going on with you out there? It looks like your head isn't even in the game. Is there something that is bothering you that is distracting you from you're a game?"

"It's just that I've been thinking that basketball maybe isn't what I should be doing. I mean I don't want it to become my life."

"Do you love the game?"

"Yes Sir"

"Then that is all that really matters when it comes down to it. You don't have to have the goal of going to the NBA just to play college ball. As long as it makes you happy to play and that you play to your fullest potential, then that is all anyone can ask of you."

"Thanks coach that means a lot coming from you", Smith leaves and a tall blonde woman comes walking toward Nathan.

"Coach Scott?"

"Yea, how can I help you?

"This letter came for you express mail."

"Thank you."

Nathan sees that is from his mom. He rips open the FedEx package and removes the letter and starts to read it. After reading the letter Nathan clutches the letter and runs pass out of the gym and passes his team.

"Coach, Coach…." Yells Smith and some of the other players.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four: This is Your Life**_

"Okay, move that like about 6 inches to the left. No, no, no, my left. Okay right there. Thanks so much Jason."

"No prob Peyton. What exhibit is this for anyway?"

"Oh, this is for the new artist exhibit that debuts next week."

"Why aren't I hanging any of your stuff? You know its good enough."

"Oh please Jason, you know the only way they'll put any of my stuff up is if my last name is Hilton or Riche."

"Oh child, if it was the work would be finger paintings or should I say stick art."

They both laughed and Peyton helped Jason down from the ladder.

"But all I'm trying to say is that your stuff rocks. You shouldn't just be putting this stuff up; you should have someone putting yours up."

"You wanna know a secret? I am showing some of my pieces. Not here though, abut at some little artsy place down in the village." Peyton shows a little grin of satisfaction as she said this.

"S-H-U-T UP! I can't believe you didn't tell me. I thought I was suppose to be your best friend? You traitor! No I love you anyway but how come you didn't tell me?"

"I was nervous about it. If I told anybody it would become more real to me. And I think part of me wants to still be under the radar. I don't know I just…"

"What are you two doing? Do I pay you to just sit around and chit-chat?" yelled this very tall Nordic looking woman with ice blonde hair and over sized sunglasses.

"No Angelika" they said in unison.

Angelika is the gallery owner and she is a bitch. All she cares about is herself and her dog. She carries her dog around everywhere she goes. It is a black and white pug with a red polka dot jacket with matching boots.

Peyton just stood there in awe of the woman thinking this is not what she wants to become. She hated everything about this woman but needed the job and was grateful for the opportunity to working around some of New York's rising artist. But Peyton thought how long was she going to endure the horrors that this woman puts her through. And poor Jason, Angelika doesn't even notice him half the time and she thinks his name is James.

"Peyton did you and James put up the Burton paintings for tonight? Because you know Marc wants his paintings in 5 point formation and we can't afford to have anything go wrong. Marc said that if everything goes to his liking he will be donating us ½ a million dollars for our new wing. So I need this to go flawless, do you think you can handle this?

"Yes Angelika, I have it all under control"

"Oh and James, Annabelle needs to be walked and taking to the groomers. Make sure they give her a manicure and they use hot pick nail polish."

"Yes Angelika" Jason said and as he went to retrieve the dog from her he gave Peyton a look of pain. He looked as if he was going to throw that dog across the room. Peyton gave a little chuckle when her cell phone rang. Angelika looked at her and Peyton took the phone call out side.

"Hello? Oh hey Brian, what's up?"

"Nothing much, they guys wanted me to ask you if we are still playing the Dell this weekend?"

"Yea, I got you guys booked there for Friday and Saturday. And then we go upstate to play some college clubs and I've arranged for a music exec to come see you guys this weekend. Are you psyched?

"Oh Hell Yea. I can't believe this Peyton. Thanks to you we can really make this happen. Oh you don't know how much this means to me. I can't wait and tell the guys. Thanks a million babe. Bye"

"Bye Brian, I'll call you later to see how it went." Peyton hung up the phone and went back inside. Angelika was walking around the gallery inspecting everything and she was driving Peyton crazy but that wasn't different from any other day. Then the door opened and a UPS delivery man walked in.

"I'm looking for Peyton Sawyer"

"That's me"

"You have a package. Sign here and initial here. Thanks have a nice day."

"You too." Peyton opened the thin envelop and a smaller one slipped out. The letter was from her dad. Peyton's dad now lived in Tree Hill permanently now since he retired from the shipping business. She opened the letter and read it. Like Nathan and Broke before her she had a look of horror on her face. Just then Jason came back with Annabelle and saw the look Peyton had on her face.

"Peyton are you okay?"

"No, I have to go back home."

"To your apartment?"

"No, Tree Hill. Something's happened and I need to be there."

"I'll come with you. You look like you need a friend. You can tell me what happened on the way."

"Angelika, I have to go out of town. It is a emergency."

"What? What do you mean _emergency_? I need you here tonight. What about the show? Who's going to set it up, James?"

"No Angelika, _Jason_ is coming with me. I'll call Sarah to come in. She knows all the details of tonight. I'll call you when I can to tell you when we'll be back. Bye Angelika."

"But…But…But…"

"Come Jason we have to go Now."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five: The First Cut is the Deepest**_

"Dr. Goldstein, paging Dr. Goldstein, Dr. Goldstein to oncology."

"Lucas are you okay? Do you want a coffee or something?" says Deb as her and Lucas is out side a hospital room door.

"No, I'm okay, just waiting for Haley to come back with James and Lilly. Are you okay, I mean with all of this and of what's to come?"

"I don't know Lucas. She's tough and she's been through more things than this. I just have to have hope that things go according to plan. All I could do is pray."

"Hey stop running you too, this is a hospital." Haley yells at two five year old children one boy and one girl. The boy is tall for his age and has green eyes and short dark brown hair. The girl is very pretty with blue eyes and long brown hair.

"Okay mom."

"James and Lilly, come sit next to me. And you two behave because maybe on the way home we can all get some ice-cream. How's that sound?" Both children nod eagerly.

Lucas turns his head toward the nurses' station and sees two familiar figures.

"Yes were looking for Ms…."

"Brooke, Rachel?"

"Lucas" says Brooke with a sigh of relief as they walk toward him and the others. Brooke embraces Lucas as if he was the last person on earth. Rachel turns and hugs Deb and Haley. After everyone finished hugging Brooke and Rachel's eyes started to water.

"How is she? Can we see her? I rescheduled my meeting and Rachel took off of work and we hopped on the first plane out of L.A."

"Brooke, breathe."

They all laugh and then Brooke's eyes move toward the children. She knew the little girl but who was this little boy?

"Grandma, can me and Lilly go to the vending machines?" "Sure baby. You know what, I'll take you too. Let mommy and her friends catch up."

Haley gave Deb the evil eye as she walked away with the kids

"Grandma, mommy? Haley what is going on here? You told me along with everyone else that you gave your son up for adoption. Now can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"Okay I will tell you everything but not right now. Here comes the doctor. Hi Dr. Goldstein."

Dr. Goldstein was a nice looking young doctor. She looked no older than thirty. She had long dark hair and wore thin rimmed glasses.

"Doctor, is she going to be okay? What did the test tell us? What should…"

"Lucas, relax. We are doing everything we can." She interrupted.

"Now, we're going to be bringing her back to her room shortly, and then we will talk altogether. Look her she comes now."

3 male nurses rolled her down the hall. She looked as pale as ever thought Lucas. Seeing her there, lying there on that gurney all helpless made Lucas's and the others heart break.

They all filed into the room one by one after her and the doctor.

"Who are you two? Are you immediate family?" says Dr. Goldstein

"No but it is okay for them to stay." Lucas tells the doctor.

"You know what, I'll wait outside. And Deb's back with the kids, she should be in here. I'll wait with the kids." Rachel says as she leads Deb in the room.

"Okay, let's get down to business. I have your results to your test. Things are looking better than we expected but they are still not good. You responded well to the radiation we gave you but the mass is still too large for us to operate. We are going to keep you on the radiation until it shrinks. But I am so sorry to tell you that your case is at an end stage. If the radiation does not work we can not perform surgery. Right now what we are focused on is making sure that the mass doesn't spread to other areas of your body. I know that this is a lot to take in but you have be strong and you have to keep being strong Ms. Roe."

"Yea mom, you gotta be strong because we're gonna be strong too" says Lucas with tears in his eyes.

"My baby. My sweet baby boy" Karen says weakly. Now everyone is on the verge of tears, including Dr. Goldstein.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six: Understand**_

"Thank you for flying AirBlu. I hope you had a wonderful flight" said a pretty flight attendant as Jason and Peyton exited the plane.

"Do you think I would be a good flight attendant?" says Jason as they wait for their luggage.

"I don't know? You might want to flirt with the passengers too much. Plus, you really don't like manual labor. Oh there's our stuff."

Peyton went and grabbed both of their duffel bags and slung them over her shoulder. Since the stalking incident Peyton had become very dedicated to her fitness and well being.

So they both head out of the airport and as they are waiting for a taxi Peyton sees a man that she thinks she knows. She starts to walk toward this man trying to remember where she knows him from. She's behind him now and she recognizes his scent. Peyton realizes who it is and taps him on his shoulder.

"Hey, you know you look just like my ex-boyfriend?" Peyton says with a big smile on her face. The tall stranger turns around and it was Nathan.

"Oh my god! I can't believe you're here. Wow! You look great." They hug and pull apart and then hug again.

Jason sees the reunion and after they finished hugging he walks over to them and Peyton introduces him to Nathan.

The friends decide to share a cab and head over to Deb's house.

"Hey Nathan, do you know how Karen's doing?"

"My mom says that it doesn't look so great but I have a feeling that she's gonna pull through. How do you feel about seeing Luke?

"Probably the same way you feel about seeing Haley. Don't worry all we have to do is keep saying we're there for Karen."

"Yeah right, you two keep thinking that"

"Shut up Jason. Nathan don't listen to him, he's just upset that my exes are better looking than his."

They all laugh as the taxi pulls up in front of Deb's big front door. Jason pays the driver as Peyton and Nathan grab the bags. All three of them just stand there for a moment gazing at the house. For Nathan it is bringing back a lot of good and painful memories. For Peyton it reminds her of part her youth that she spent with her friends. And as for Jason, he's thinking of who he needs to sleep with to get a house like this. The door swings open and Deb runs out and embraces her son. Then she turns to Peyton and gives her a big hug and Peyton introduces Jason to Deb and Jason hugs Deb just for the hell of it. They all go into the big house and Deb offers everyone a drink and they sit down at the counter.

"I can't believe you're here. To bad the circumstances couldn't be better but it is still good to see you both."

"You too mom, so how's Karen doing?"

"The doctors say that she has end stage cancer. However, they say they can operate if they can get the tumor down to a reasonable size. But right now what they are concerned with is that the cancer doesn't spread to her vital organs. Right now the tumor is near the kidney" Deb explains with tears in her eyes.

"How are Lily and Lucas?" Peyton asks.

"Lily is okay but you know she is still too young to understand it all and Lucas is holding it together as best as he can. Peyton, where are you two staying? Because you know that you guys can stay here if you want."

"Thanks Deb but I think I'm going to stay at home, only if my dad didn't turn my room into a gym or something."

They chuckle and finish their drinks and Peyton and Jason get their things and say bye to Nathan and Deb. Peyton tells Nathan that she will be by later to pick him up to go to the hospital.

"So mom, besides the obvious, how is things?"

"If you mean how's Haley, she's fine."

Nathan walks around the living room looking at all the pictures on the mantel. He notices a picture of a little boy that he doesn't notice. The boy looks familiar to him but he doesn't know from where.

"Mom, who is this little boy? Do I know him?"

Deb hangs her head down and stays silent.

"Mom who is this?"  
"Nathan there is something I need to tell you…"


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven: Confessions Part 1**_

"James this is the last time that I'm going to tell you, get ready for your bath."

"Mommy, I just wanna see the end of the movie."

"No James. I'll let you see the rest of it after you get out of the tub."

"Ohhh, okay. Do you promise?"

"Yes I promise but you have to get in now before it gets too late."

Haley picks up the remote to the DVD player and paused the movie. As James goes to his room to get ready for his bath Haley starts picking up toys and clothes around the living room. As she does this, thoughts just race through her head. She thinks about Karen and Lily and Lucas and how their going to get though this. Then she thinks about Nathan. She knows that he is coming into town because of Karen but she never really thought about what she was or is going to say when she sees him. She doesn't know how she is going to explain James to him. But what if Deb tells him; would it be better if she did? Would he hate her? James? She could not even contemplate it if he didn't except James. He is an innocent child and should not be punished by the actions of his mother. Haley's mind was just aching with the thoughts of this when the doorbell rang. Is it Nathan? she thought. Haley went to the door and looked outside the peephole and saw that it was Brooke.

"Hey come on in. What's up?"

"Nothing, I just came from Lucas'. He's just having a real hard time. I wish there is something I could do for him."

"Yeah, me too but there is nothing any of us can do but just wait."

"Mommy, I'm ready now" James yells from the bathroom.

"I'll be right there honey. Brooke, I gotta give James a bath can you hold on for a second?"

"Sure. You go do your thing and then explain."

Haley went to the bathroom to give James his bath. Brooke started walking around the cute little living room looking at the pictures that Haley had hanging on the walls. There were pictures of both Haley and Lucas with James, ones of all three of them together, James as a baby, Lily and James, James with Karen and Deb. As Brooke looked at all these pictures she thought that she really didn't know her best friend anymore. Haley had become a person she did not know but she was willing to know the woman that she saw in these pictures.

"Okay, now you go put on your pajamas and I'll put on the movie for you. Me and my friend are going to be in the kitchen talking so you be good."

"Okay mommy. Can I have milk with the movie? I won't spill it, I promise."

"Okay I'll get it for you."

Haley leaves the bathroom and goes to the living room. She tells Brooke that they can talk in the kitchen but she had to put a movie on for James first and then she will be right back. Haley gets a cup of milk and goes into the living room and starts the movie again for James and gives him the milk and goes back into the kitchen.

"So I suppose you wanna know about James?"

"Yeah that would be nice."

"So where do I start?"

"The beginning would be nice" snapped Brooke.

"Okay, okay. So you remember when I broke up with Nathan right after graduation? I told him that we need a divorce because I wasn't ready to be a mother and a wife. He tried so hard to convince me that I was just nervous but I gave him the divorce papers and I told him that if he loved me that he would just let me go. He asked me about the baby and I told him that I would give it up for adoption and that all he needs to know is that this baby would be with a family that loves him. I told him that he needs to go to college and play basketball and try to make something of himself. He didn't want to do it but he did as you know. I went to Boston and he went to play college ball"

"Yeah I know all of this. What I wanna know is why you have a son and Nathan knows nothing about him?"

"The thing is, is that when I told Nathan that I didn't want to be with him and that I was giving the baby up was all because I didn't want him to give up on his dream. Deb helped me and convinced Nathan to let me go. And when I did go I had no intentions of giving up James. I had James while I was away at school and with the help of Deb and my sister; I raised James and went to school. After I finished school I moved back here and Deb got me a job with her firm. I eventually told Lucas about what happened and he vowed to stick by me and help me the way Keith helped him. I know that it was wrong not to tell Nathan about the baby but I swear that what I did, I did it out of love for him. I never stopped loving him but it was my love for him that drove me to do what I did. Am I a horrible person or what?"

"I don't think you are a horrible person. I think what you did was very strong and raising James basically by yourself is even stronger."

"It really means a lot to me knowing that you don't hate me for what happened.'

"I was angry to be honest with you. But that was before I knew all of this. So what are you going to do now that Nathan is back in town?"

"I don't know. I still do love him but I'm not the same person that I was then. Too many things have happened since high school. Who's to say that he even has feelings for me? All I want is for him to except our son and if he doesn't then screw him."

James walks in, "Mommy the movie finished. Is it time for bed?"

"Yes baby, but I want you to meet a friend of mine, this is Brooke."

"Hi Brooke. My name is James Lucas Scott. I gonna be 5. You have a gina."

"What!?" Brooke says.

"I have a penis and you have a gina."

"Wow Hales what have you been telling him?"

"Okay James say goodnight to Brooke. And I'll be in to tuck you in."

"Nite Brooke."

As Haley followed James into his room all Brooke could think is how much he looks like

Nathan.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight: Confessions Part II**_

"Okay Lily, what do you want for dinner? Chicken and macaroni, steak and macaroni, or macaroni?" Lucas said to his sister as he stood over by the stove.

"I want Macaroni."

"Good choice. Hold on let me see who's at the door"

Lucas puts down the pot that was in his hand and goes to the front door to see who it was. He opened the door

"What up man?" said skills as he goes in to give his childhood friend a hug.

"Hey man! Come on in."

"Thanks man. So how you doing? I got your message and came right here. How's your mom?"

"She's doing the best she can do. Man, it is good to see you." Lucas says as he and Skills go into the kitchen.

"Oh my god. Is that Lily?"

"Yep that is my baby sister. She's like 5 going on 25. I was about to make dinner. You wanna stay? I make a mean macaroni."

"Yeah, that sounds cool. I wanted to catch up with you anyway. I've been on the road so much playing ball I really don't have anytime to just chill and see or talk to my peoples."

"Okay whatever; I can imagine how hard it is to be a professional basketball player." Lucas said with a smirk on his face as he puts water on to boil for dinner.

"It is hard. Always being on the road and playing night after night. Don't get me wrong, I love it when I'm on that court and the crowd is going wild when we step out. It's an amazing rush but that is just part of it. Then there's the practice and the appearances and it just gets too much sometimes. You don't know how bad I wish I could just be back on the river court with my boys just playing ball for the fun of it."

"I kinda know what you mean. I get that way sometimes just thinking back to when it was all about the game. Not worrying about who won or points. Things were just simple then. Now we're supposed to be responsible adults and sometimes I ask myself when did this all take place?"

"Dawg, don't worry about that because we have basically have done good since high school and college. Look at you and Haley, you both are writers at the paper and your book was on the best sellers list for weeks. Man, you are doing good as far as achievements go."

As Lucas makes the plates of macaroni for his sister and his friend he takes what Skills said to heart. He really has done well for himself. The only flaw that he saw was the fact that he wasn't really successful when it came to relationships. Haley was right when she said that he couldn't hold a girlfriend. It wasn't that he didn't try it was that at a certain point in the relationship a wall would go up and he would just shut down. He didn't mean to do this; he just felt that he couldn't get to that certain level of intimacy with these women. There was nothing wrong with the physical part of the relationship; Lucas just didn't want to get hurt like he did with Peyton and Brooke. Brooke had hurt him in high school but it made him realize his love for Peyton. And that love was the greatest love that he felt for any woman he has been with. But when she went away to college they started to pull away. She would come home for the holidays and things would be great but when she went back to school things were just distant. She would call less and when they were both online together she would say that she was doing some sort of school work. Lucas didn't want to believe that she had fallen out of love with him so he just acted as if nothing had changed. But things had changed and he finally realized this when he went to visit her in California for a weekend. He went there and he saw that she had become a different person. This had become apparent to Lucas when he saw her with her new artsy friends. Especially this guy named Mark. He had asked Peyton if anything was going on with her and Mark and she said no. Then one night they had all went to this club and he told her that he was going to go get some drinks for them and when he came back he could not believe his eyes. He Peyton and Mark dancing in a way that friends don't dance. Mark had one hand on the lower part of her back right above her butt. And the other hand was on her waist slightly under her tee. Peyton had her arms wrapped around his neck. Lucas put down the drinks and went over to them. He asked Peyton what was going on here and she said they were just dancing. From what he just saw he knew deep down there was more to the story. He just walked out of the club and stood outside and let the brisk air hit his face; Peyton came out shortly. Lucas turned to her and with an almost eerie calmness to his voice asked her if anything had happened between her and Mark. Peyton held her head down and you could see the tears hit the pavement. She held her head up and with tears rolling down her face just nodded her head. Again with calmness Lucas asked if it was still going on. Peyton, now her cries were no longer silent nodded her head once again. He didn't have the strength or heart to look at her. He just turned around and held his head down trying not to let his emotions get the best of him. All Peyton could say is sorry and that she never meant for any of this to happen. Lucas turned to her and looked in her tear stained face and said goodbye. He left her there in front of the club crying, and that was the last time that he saw her.

A tear fell down Lucas's face as him, Skills and Lily ate there food.

"Man you were right this is some good macaroni."

"I told you, I got mad skills." All three of them break out laughing.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter Nine: Light Years Away**_

"That will be $4.50"

"Are you serious? For a cup of coffee. Wow, Tree Hill has changed a lot" said Brooke to the teenage cashier at a coffee shop down the block from Karen's Café.

"Brooke, is that you?"

Brooke turns around and sees a friendly and familiar face

"Mouth!! Oh my god!! Look at you, you look great." Brooke said as she hugged her friend. Mouth looked pretty much the same except he had a little more facial hair and was a bit taller.

"So you here because of Karen too?" Mouth said

"Yeah, me and Rachel came in the other day. It's just terrible about what's happening."

Brooke and Mouth sat and rank their coffee and reminisced about the good times and what they've been up to since high school. An hour had gone by when Nathan walked into the coffee shop and saw his old friends sitting there.

"Mouth, Brooke? How are you?"

"Nathan, man, I'm good, how are you? I heard you were doing some coaching?" said Mouth.

"Yeah, I'm coaching at a college up in Pinehurst. We're second in our division. So what are you doing?" Nathan said as he got his coffee and joined his two friends.

"Oh, I'm a junior sports reporter at ESPN. I don't get to be on T.V yet but I do get to go to the games and report on the games."

"What about you Brooke?"

Brooke hesitated with her answer. All she could think about was that little boy and how much he looked like the man sitting in front of her. She had the urge to just blurt out that your son is here in Tree Hill, but she knew that if she did that she would be opening a big can of worms.

"Oh, I'm just trying to expand my clothing line."

"You still have "Clothes over Bros"?"

"Yeah, after high school it just took off. And while I was college things just started to snow ball over. I was getting orders left and right, so I decided to make this into a full time gig. And here I am, 5 years later having meetings with the biggest designers and the biggest retail stores."

"Wow, that's amazing Brooke. I'm so proud of you. Hey, did any of you see Karen yet?"

"Yeah, I did. She didn't look so good when I went."

"I was about to go over there in a little bit, I just wanted to get some coffee. Do you guys want to go with me?"

"Sure, I haven't been yet" said Mouth

They all pick up their drinks and then walk out of the coffee shop.

"I can't wait till Karen gets better and then there will be good coffee in Tree Hill again. No offence Nate, but your mom can't make coffee." Brooke said with a smile on her face.

"You should have her cooking." They all laugh as they get into Nathan's car and drive to the hospital.

As they pull up to the hospital Brooke sees Haley's car in the parking lot. She starts to get nervous and hopes that she didn't bring James. They park the Ford Focus and get out and start walking to the entrance. To some degree they are all nervous about seeing Karen. Nathan and Mouth don't know what to expect when they see her. Brooke on the other was nervous because deep down she knew that something bad was going to happen when Nathan saw Haley.

All three of them got into the elevator and took it to the forth floor which was the ICU. When the got off Brooke was very hesitant and stepped lightly wondering if she was in the room. Brooke led the way to Karen's room which was at the end of the hallway. When they got to the door right before Karen's, Brooke heard James' voice and it felt as if a rock was lodged into her throat. Brooke entered the room first and saw Karen of the bed with James right beside her and Haley sitting in the visitor's chair. Next to enter was Mouth followed by Nathan. Who when he saw this boy sitting next to Karen he knew it was the boy in the picture he had saw on his mom's mantle. But who was this boy? Then his eyes moved to Haley and their eyes met. Haley's eyes watered up some but no tears emerged.

Now awake, Karen beckoned for the boys to come in and have a seat. Both Nathan and Mouth leaned in and gave Karen a hug and kiss. Nathan had seen how much weight that Karen had lost and how pail she had looked. She no longer had that gorgeous dark hair. Now all she had on was a scarf on her head hiding the effect of the Chemo Therapy.

"Come, sit, let me see you guys" Karen said with a whisper of a voice.

"Karen, me and James are gonna go so I'll see you tomorrow after work. Lucas said that he was going to bring Lily by later, Okay?" Haley said to Karen as she took James' hand and gave Karen a kiss goodbye.

As she and James walked out of the room Haley kept her head down to avoid eye contact with Nathan. Nathan couldn't help but notice the way that she held this boy. Who was this boy? Was this her son? Was this _his_ son? As they left the room and Mouth and Brooke took a seat next to Karen, Nathan left the room to catch up with Haley.

"Haley, Haley!! Wait up." Nathan said as he jogged down the hall to meet them at the elevator. When he turned the corner he saw them get into the elevator and the doors close behind them. He turned around and went to take the stairs down. Nathan ran so fast he was skipping steps at a time to beat the elevator down. When he finally got down to the first floor he stood in front of the elevator to try and catch his breath. Suddenly the elevator doors opened and there she was. Nathan thought that she looked as beautiful as ever with her golden brown hair in a high ponytail, wearing a beautiful flower print dress.

"I have to go Nathan" Haley said sternly as she grabbed James' hand and headed for the door.

"Can we just talk? Don't you owe me that much?"

"Owe You? Nathan I don't owe you anything. We broke up a long time ago and now just because we are here now, you believe I owe you something? Nathan, just go upstairs and visit with Karen. She is what you owe something to."

Nathan stood there as he watched Haley walk away with James in tow and get into her car. He thought to himself how'd he let her go a second time. Now all he could do now was go back up stairs and visit with Karen, which is what he came to do.

When he got back upstairs he and Brooke exchanged a look and right then Brooke knew what happened.

Karen turned to Nathan and asked him, "Nathan, What's wrong?"

Nathan didn't have the heart or strength to answer.

3


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten: Look after you**_

"Look who's here? Go say hi to mom." Lucas said to his little sister as they entered their mothers' hospital room. Karen's appearance hadn't changed from the last time that Lucas had seen her but she did seem she was in high spirits. Karen's doctor had called Lucas and told him to come right away because she had news for him.

Shortly after Lucas and Lily arrived Deb came in the room.

"Now how's the beautiful lady doing today?" Deb said as she lend over Karen's bed to give her a kiss on her forehead.

"Oh, I'm doing okay today. I'm still a little tired but I feel like I have more energy. So did Dr. Goldstein call you too?"

"Yeah she told me that there was something that she wanted to tell us." Just as Deb said that Dr. Goldstein entered the room.

"Hello everyone. Now how's our guest of honor doing?"

"I'm doing a little better today."

"That's fantastic. Now I've asked you all here today to talk about Karen's progress and where we go from here. First, the good news, your chemo has successfully achieved what we hoped. It shrank the size of the tumor and we are able to operate in about two days. The mass is still near your kidneys and we have also put you on the transplant list just in case this surgery is not as successful as we want it. At the present moment your kidneys are holding up, but because this tumor is aggressive and I want you to have a full recovery with little chance of remission, I believe that we should take the possibility of a transplant in consideration."

Lucas didn't really know how to process this news. Just the thought of them cutting his mom open was horrible enough, now with the chance that she will need a transplant was just shocking to him. Dr. Goldstein continued.

"If we go with the transplant, there is a lot that is in the equation. First you have to be on U-NOS, which is the transplant waiting list, and you're already on that. Then we would like to test your family to see of they are possible candidates for a donor."

"Can non relatives be tested to see if they are a match?" Deb interrupted.

"We usually check blood relatives first because they are the most compatible candidates. But we do test non relatives also. Now remember this is still a worse case scenario. We don't have to decide anything until we perform the surgery. Now that is basically it. Do any of you have any questions or any concerns?"

"So I will be having the surgery in two days? Why not sooner?"

"You just had chemo two days ago and we want your body to become stronger to with stand any type of procedure."

"So after the surgery, will my mom have to have any more chemo?" Lucas said as he stood by his mother's holding her hand.

"No, we don't believe so. Let me make something clear, the surgery that we are performing is to remove the tumor and any trace of it. Now the only reason that we would have to go the transplant route is if the kidneys are damaged from the tumor. Right now the tumor is on the kidneys and we don't know how they are affecting them. Until we remove the tumor, we won't know our next plan of action. I'm going to go and look at your x-rays and lab results from the test that we took yesterday. If you need me just ask a nurse to page me. Consider the things that I told you and think about what route you wanna go. Get some rest and I will see you later Karen."

"Thank you doctor for all of that." Deb said as Dr. Goldstein exited the room.

"So mom what do you wanna do?" Lucas said with the sound of slight worry in his voice.

"Like the doctor said Luke, we have to wait till after the surgery. Anyway I don't want to worry about any transplant until I have to. Now, tell me what's been going on while I've been in here?"

"The café is doing okay. We've lost a few customers since you went into the hospital but the club is picking up nicely." Deb said trying to sound as positive as she could.

"And what about you baby, do you have any good news for mommy?" Karen said as Lucas picked up lily and put her on the side of her bed so she could talk to her daughter.

"I'm doing okay. We learned about the presidents this week and I planted a sunflower in the class garden and we went to the aquarium." Lily said all excitedly.

They all sat with Karen for a few more hours and then Lucas saw that Lily was getting tired and decided to call it a night. They all bid a farewell to Karen and walked out of the hospital together. Before they got to the parking lot, Deb stopped Lucas and asked him a question.

"Have you spoken to your brother lately?" Deb said with a look of despair on her face.

"No I haven't. Is he in town?" Lucas said as he didn't care either way for the response

"Yeah, he came in a few days ago. He's staying with me. He went to see your mom yesterday. Luke, he really wants to see you. I don't understand what the problem that you two have but you need to fix it."

"Deb, it's not that I have a problem, it's the fact that when the whole Haley thing happened Nathan kinda turned his back on me for sticking up for Haley. If there is anyone you should be talking to about this riff we have is him. I gotta get Lily home, I'll see you later." Lucas said as he walked away from Deb with Lily in his arms half asleep.

"Lucas, I think he knows about James." Deb blurted out

Lucas turned around slowly and looked Deb in the eye with a sense of disbelief.

"What do you mean he knows?"

"Let's talk about this in a more secured location. Let's go to your mom's house."

"Okay follow me there."

Lucas and Deb got into their cars and headed over to his mom's house. Once they got there Lucas went and put Lily into her room, which was his old room but it no longer only had a mural of the river court but it was accompanied by pictures of Keith, Karen, Lucas and everyone else in her life. Once he laid her down he went into the living room and sat down with Deb.

"So why do you think that Nathan knows about James?"

"After he came home from the hospital yesterday I saw that he looked upset and I asked him what was wrong and he told me that he saw Haley at the hospital. Nathan had seen a picture of James on my mantle the day that he arrived and asked who it was. I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was his son. But when he came home and told me he saw Haley with the boy from my pictures I didn't know what to say. All I did was say I had a AA meeting and I had to go. Lucas it's not gonna take a rocket science to put two and two together. I never pressured Haley to tell Nathan before because I thought it was best for both of them but things have changed. James is getting older and he needs to know who his father is."

"Maybe he doesn't"

"I know that you didn't get to know your father when you were young and that was for the best but Nathan is not Dan and I believe that he would be a great father. I don't think I can do this anymore."

"Deb, I've been to James what Keith was to me. And I don't think that James is going to be any different if Nathan was here or not. No matter what I'm going to be part of that child's life and if you think that it s best you need to go talk to Haley. I don't even know why you came to me first with this."

"I came to you first because you are the closest thing to a father James has had."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven: The Boys of Summer**_

As Haley got ready for work the next day all she could think about is Nathan. Part of her yearned to be with him and the other part just knew that she had to stay away. But she could not deny the heat that she felt when she saw him. All of the love and attraction that she felt for her ex husband just rushed back into her when she saw him walk into that hospital room. Then she thought about Lucas. She didn't know why he popped into her head but Lucas had been there for her all these years. He's helped with James and stood by her in her decision with Nathan. He even got her a job at the paper as a junior copy editor. Lucas has meant so much to her and James. He is like a father figure to James and was there for every big moment in his life so far. She was torn by the two men in her life. On one hand she had the father of her son and once the love of her life. Then she had her best friend that practically raised her son as his own. She didn't know how to deal with these emotions that she was having. Were the feelings that she had for Nathan true or just her wanting to relive her past? Or was she having feelings for Lucas that were more than platonic? Right when she was finishing getting dress while she played mental ping pong with her dilemma, James walked in and told her that Deb was at the door. She put on her skirt and her and James went down stairs. Deb was in the kitchen making herself a cup of coffee.

"Good morning. Don't we look nice today? What tine do you have to be in the office?" Deb said as she sat down at the kitchen table with her coffee.

"I have to be there at 9. Come James, let me pour you some cereal. So Deb, what are you doing her so early? I thought you said that you were going to go by the hospital this morning and that's why you couldn't take James."

"Oh, I am going but there are pressing matters that I need to discuss with you. They concern Nathan."

"Anything that concerns Nathan does not concern me anymore" she said with a little power in her voice.

"I understand that you have your issues with him but you need to know that I think that he knows about James."

"What about me?" James said with his mouth full of cereal.

"Nothing baby, you can take your cereal in the living room and watch cartoons while me and grandma talk."

James didn't need to hear that twice. He got up and took his cereal in the living room to watch Disney's Playhouse.

"Now I understand how you may think Nathan knows about James but how could you be sure? Did he tell you anything when he came back from the hospital the other day?"

"All he said to me was that he saw you at the hospital. He also told me that you had a little boy with you and he was the same boy from the pictures on my mantle."

"He saw pictures of James before the hospital?"

"Yeah he saw it the day he came. Haley I understand all that we've done to keep this from Nathan but I think that it's time that we start telling the truth. With all that is going on we should realize that life is short and we need to make amends where we can."

"I just don't know. I don't want to disrupt anything in his life and James' either. James has been perfect to this point and I don't think that bringing Nathan in his life is the right thing to do. We never planned on doing that."

"I know that was not part of the plan but he is my son and I think that what we've done needs to be rectified."

"And James is _my_ son. And I did and will do what's best for him. And what about Lucas? Don't you think this involves him too? He has been the only man there for James and I don't want him to be left out in this. Nathan is his brother." Haley said as her temper started to rise.

"I've already told him. I told him everything I've told you yesterday when we came from the hospital. And surprisingly he said the same thing you did. He also suggested that I come see you first before I do anything, so that is why I'm here. I'm not here to ask for your permission, I'm just here to tell you what I'm going to do and for you to be prepared for the aftermath. Now I need to go to the hospital. Think about what I said and make a decision about what you're going to do." Deb said angrily as she got up and went over to James, kissed him goodbye and walked out the door.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter Twelve: Have a Little Faith in Me**_

Peyton rolled over in her bed not really wanting to get up but knew she had to. She had been home for a few days now and still hadn't gone to see Karen. That was the whole reason she came back to Tree Hill. She was just didn't know what to expect. For one, she hadn't seen Karen in years and really didn't want to see her in this state. Then she hadn't seen Lucas either in a long time. The last time she saw him was when they broke up at the club. That had been a horrible night and she tries not to think of it very often but when she does she just remembers the pain that she caused him. She figured that some time on this trip she was going to see him and that is why she prolonged this trip to see Karen. Plus it really reminded her of her time she spent with Ellie.

Peyton finally rolled out of the bed and ended up stepping on Jason as she got out. She was happy that Jason came with her. Jason had been her friend for a few years now. He was just someone she could count on in her time of need. He was basically the male version of Brooke. Peyton said sorry to Jason, as he to started to get up, and went to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and looked at her reflection. Some times she would get up in the morning and not even recognize the person looking back at her. Peyton had changed on the inside and out. She was no longer the emo cheerleader she was in high school. She was now an adult and she needed to start acting like one. She didn't need to avoid the people of her past. She needed to face them head on no matter the consequences.

With this new attitude, Peyton got dressed, and decided to go see Karen. She told Jason to meet her downstairs when he was finished. When Peyton got downstairs her father was already down there making breakfast.

"Morning honey, do you want some pancakes?"

"Yeah, thanks. Dad, I'm going to see Karen today, do you wanna come with me?"

"No I can't go because I have to go over to Mrs. Hemlock's place and help her with garbage disposal. You know how she can get. And it's nice help out your neighbors when you can." He said as they both laughed. A few moments later Jason came downstairs in a pair of tight black jeans and a "Free Paris" t-shirt and his hair in a faux-hawk. Peyton looked at her friend and just could not resist laughing. Jason just looked at her and asked if it was too much. Both her and her dad nodded their heads and Jason just told them to get over it.

"I'm gonna take mine to go dad, I'll call you later because after we leave the hospital I'm gonna show Jason around." Peyton kisses her dad goodbye and grabs a pancake and folds it in half and takes a bite. Jason follows in her lead and grabs a pancake and they both walk out the door. Peyton walks over to the garage and opens the door. She looks at her car and feels all the memories of her past flood her. The car looked just as she had left it. They hopped in the car and pulled off on their way to the hospital.

"So what are you thinking peyt?" Jason asked her as they drove down the street.

"I don't know. What if I run into Lucas or somebody? I mean I know I'm here to see Karen but it is still a big possibility that he might be there. It is his mom after all."

"You can't worry about that. If you go around worrying about what might happen, you won't do anything in life. Okay say he is there. What's gonna happen? The world will stop spinning? He'll beat you up? No, none of that is gonna happen. He will probably be too focused on his mom to even care about happened between you two."

"Maybe you're right."

"I know I'm right. Okay there's a spot, pull in there." Jason said as they pulled into the hospital parking lot. They got out of the car and walked into the hospital. Peyton walked up to the security desk and told the old security guard that they were there to see Karen Roe. The security guard told them what room and gave them visitor passes and both of them went right on up.

Just as the visitors before her, Peyton had a sense of fear and anticipation. What was she gonna see? What was Karen gonna say to her? Would she even wanna she her after she broke her son's heart? Even so, it was too late to turn around because they were at the door and Jason nudged her in. to her relief Karen was by herself. It had been years since both of Peyton's moms had passed away and with both of them she didn't see the ordeal that either one went through. Seeing Karen lay there sleeping just made her think of Ellie and what she must had went through. Peyton was screaming inside for relief from these thoughts and images. Just as her and Jason walked into the room a little more Karen rolled over and opened her eyes.

"Peyton? Is that you?"

"Yes Karen, it's me Peyton. I came to see how you're doing"

"Oh, it's so good to see you. Come give me a hug." Both women hug for a while. Peyton takes a seat next to the bed. She introduces Jason to Karen and for a while they just talk. They talk as if no time and nothing had happened. After about an hour had passed there was a knock on the door and Brooke and Rachel came in. it had been a long time since these two friends had saw each other. Peyton got up from her seat and both women stood there for a moment contemplating their next move. Then Brooke walked over to peyton and they hugged. It had been at least three years since they saw each other. Karen started to tear up at the sight of this reunion. All four of them visited with Karen for at least another hour. In that time Karen had explained everything that was going on with her health. She told them about the surgery and the possible transplant. Brooke being Brooke started to cry a little. The visit was interrupted because it was time for Karen's dinner. They all bid a farewell to her and told her that they will all be there the day of her surgery and when she gets out of it and then they left. They all decided that they were gonna all go out to dinner that night.

"I can't believe how good you look. And you Rachel, big time actress." Peyton said as they all sat down at the sea side restaurant.

"Oh, and what about you? Miss art dealer and music manager. I bet you have tons of emo guys just lining up for you at those concerts." Brooke said.

All four friends sat and caught up on times. As all of them were drinking their drinks and eating their dinner Rachel got a phone call. As she got up to take it, Jason got up and went to the bathroom leaving the once best friends at the table. Peyton turned to Brooke;

"Are you happy? I mean truly happy with the way that things turned out." Brooke asked Peyton.

"I don't know. I mean, I'm happy with what I do and the people around me. If you're asking me if I would go back and change anything that's happened, I wouldn't. What about you, are you happy?"

"At this point yeah. I can say I am truly happy with the way that my life turned out."

"Have you seen or talked to Lucas since you've been here?"

"Yeah, I saw him the first night we came. Why do you ask?"

"No, I just wanted to know. How does he look?"

"You know the best you can expect with what's going on. I saw Lily too. She's gotten real big. Peyton, I know that what happened between you two was really messed up, but we're adults now and I think that you guys should be able to deal with each other."

Both Jason and Rachel return to the table. Rachel tells them that it was her producer on the phone and that he needed her back because they're about to start filming again. Jason tells Rachel that he loves her show and they start talking about it. One thing led to another and Rachel ends up inviting Jason to come back to California with her. Jason is so taken aback by this question he asked Peyton if he should go. She tells him hell yes and that she'll be fine here. Jason didn't need peyton to tell him twice and he accepted Rachel's offer. So the two of them would be on a flight to California first thing tomorrow. The friends finished up their dinner and headed on their way. Peyton and Jason went back to her house so Jason could pack for tomorrow.

"Are you sure it's okay that I'm going with Rachel?"

"Yeah I'm sure. Go have fun."

The next day as her friend was on his way to California, Peyton could not shake the feeling that something big was about to happen.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter Thirteen: All Around Me**_

"James! Don't go to close to the curb honey." Haley yells as James is playing in the front yard. She turns to Lucas with a look of worry in her eyes.

"Do you think that she told Nathan already? I mean, she's right that he will eventually have to know. But I don't want James to become confused or angry at the fact that I kept this from him."

"Haley, he's 5. He has a lifetime for hating you but I don't think that if you let him meet Nathan that he is going to hate you. Yeah, he might be confused but not hate. If Nathan man's up and is a better father to James than our father was to us then I don't see the harm. Come on Haley, you know that I'm the last person that would tell you to reconcile with Nathan but I think that it might turn out good." Lucas says as he puts his arm around her.

Haley can't help but feel good at this gesture but quickly hides her excitement.

Lucas starts to think to himself that this scene just feels right, him, Haley, and James. But this is his best friend he is talking about. She has been his best friend ever since they were little. They had grown up together, been through the fire together but he had never thought about Haley in anyway that wasn't platonic before but now that was different. Lucas quickly took his hand back and stood up.

Haley saw his sudden change and decided to change the subject.

"Have you talked to Brooke since she's been here?"

"Not really. Have you?"

"Yeah, she came by the house the other day and she called me last night and told me that Rachel had to go back to California. Ummm… she also told me that Peyton's in town. They bumped into each other while visiting your mom."

"Really? My mom didn't mention it to me. Anyway that's her business what she does. Did you tell her that my mom was sick?"

"No, Brooke told me that Larry told her. Besides it shouldn't be a problem that she's here because she's here to see your mom."

"You're right but you know it still kinda hurts. You should know the feeling having Nathan in town. Isn't weird to be around a person that you were once deeply in love with? And you wanna know the messed up thing about it? I could've taken Peyton back for the whole thing she did because we have both messed up over the years. The reason I didn't was because I was just tired of trying. Trying to make it work and proving myself to her."

"Do you think you guys could be friends?"

"Maybe but right now I'm just wondering how I'm going to feel when I see her, because I know sometime over the next few days I'm going to run into her. Tree Hill isn't what you call a huge town."

"Oh shut up. So when are you coming back to work?"

"Probably after mom comes home. I talk to Kathy and she said that it was okay. I mean they have enough people there to cover the work load."

"Yeah they have me covering your stories while Stacy covers mine. And I have to admit it is kinda good to have a change in topics for a while. I was starting to get a little restless with the entertainment beat. How many stories can I do on up and coming bands?" Haley says with a little smile.

"I'm gonna go get James before he tries to eat a bug or something. Hey do you and Lily wanna come over for dinner tonight? I invited Brooke and Mouth."

"Sure, can I invite Skills and Bevin?"

"Absolutely. Can you believe our Bevin became the weather girl? I mean I watch her every morning."

"Yeah, I know she's really good. So what are you going to do for the rest of the day?"

"I don't know. I was thinking of taking James to the park but he looks fine right there. So I'll probably just chill in the house."

"Haley, you do that all the time. You should go do something for you. When was the last time you had a date?"

"When I was married. Anyway you shouldn't be giving anyone advice on relationships. Do I have to mention Hannah again? And I don't need to be in a relationship to be happy. I have James and a good job and I have you to bug me all day. My life is full of excitement."

"Whatever, do you want me to take James with me? I'm going over to pick up Lily from the baby sitter. Yeah, I gotta go to the market and get some more stuff for dinner. Karen goes into surgery tomorrow right?"

"Yeah, I'm going to go early do you wanna come?"  
"I can't, Kathy's been on my case and I gotta get some of those stories to print tomorrow. But I'll be by right after work okay."

Lucas nods and Haley goes in and gets James' bag and hands it over to Luke. They give each other a kiss, not on the lips but very close to it. Luke goes and picks up James and he says by to his mom and they go off.

Haley just can't shake the feelings that she has for Luke. Then she thinks about Karen and Keith. Keith was there for Lucas while he was growing up and was there for Karen. But deep down he always loved her. Is this the same thing Haley thought? Is she supposed to end up with Lucas? Well if so, she wasn't going to admit it today. She got up from her porch and went to get ready to go to the market. Now she was cooking for 8 and she had a lot of work to do.

Later that evening, Haley's doorbell rang. She ran from the kitchen to get the door. It was Lucas with Lily and James.

"Hey, I see you've made it. James go up stairs and get ready to take a quick bath."

"Sorry I kept him so long. You know how him and Lily get when their together. Do you want me to go up stairs and get James ready?"

"Oh that would be great, thanks. Lily, you wanna help me in the kitchen? I'm making a lemon cake."

Lily shook her head and followed Haley into the kitchen. Lucas went up stairs to get James ready. When he got upstairs James was already trying to get himself dressed. He had his shirt inside-out and his pants backwards. Lucas laughed a little bit and then got James out of the clothes. He took him to the bathroom so he could wash up and put his clothes on right. As he did this he just thought that this seems right and that he loved this little boy to death.

Downstairs, Haley and Lily were icing the cake when the door bell rang again. Haley when to open the door and it was Brooke and Mouth with one other person, Peyton. Haley was taken aback by seeing her for the simple fact that she was not expecting her to be here.

"Hey, is it okay that I invited Peyton? Her dad had to go do some work stuff and I didn't want her to eat alone." Brooke said.

"Sure, it's okay. Come on in." Haley said with a trace of despair in her voice. Because she knew that Lucas was upstairs right now and when he came down all hell would break loose.

"Haley, I'm done with the cake. Do you want me to put it on the table?" Lily said as she ran into the living room where everyone else was putting down their jackets.

"Oh my god. Is that Lily?" Mouth said as he sat down on the couch.

"Yea, that's her. Isn't she the cutest little thing? Are you watching her Haley?" Brooke asked as she took a seat in the middle of Mouth and Peyton on the couch.

"Um…. Does anyone want anything to drink?" Haley said to avoid answering the question.

Everyone said no thank you and that gave Haley her chance to run upstairs to go warn Luke that Peyton was here but it was too late. As Haley turned around to run up the stairs Luke and James were coming down.

Brooke jumped up because she didn't know that Lucas was going to be here. So as a reflex she jumped and gave Luke a big hug when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, Buddy. I didn't know you were going to be here." Brooke said and she mouthed I'm sorry to Lucas because she wouldn't have brought peyton if she knew that he was going to be there.

Lucas gave her a look of accepting her apology. "Hey guys. What's up Mouth?" He said as he gave Mouth a big bear hug.

Peyton got up form her seat…

"Hey Peyton. You look good." Lucas said as he made his way over to where Peyton was now standing and gave her a hug.

Peyton really didn't know what to do. She was so shocked by this gesture; it took her a few moments to reciprocate with the hug.

"Wow that went better than I anticipated. Now that the awkward greetings are done, can we eat?" Brooke said as Lucas and Peyton stopped hugging.

"Thanks Brooke. No, we're waiting for Skills and Bevin. Oh, that might be them now." Haley said as the door bell rang. When she opened the door she was almost knocked on the floor with what she saw.

Nathan was standing right in front of her.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter Fourteen: Babe, I'm Gonna Leave**_

"Come on baby, we can't go. If we go we'll be late for dinner."

"We won't. I just wanna get a few shots in. You know I have to stay on my game. Anyway they all probably ain't there yet."

Skills and Bevin argued all the way to the rivercourt. But by the time they got there someone else was already on the court playing.

"Yo, what up Nate?" Skills called as he and Bevin walked onto the run down looking court.

"Yo man, what's up superstar?" Nathan said as the two gave each other a hand pound.

"Nothing, I just thought I would get in a few shots before we go to dinner."

"Where you guys going to dinner?"

"Oh we're going to meet Lucas for dinner." Bevin shouted from the sideline bleachers.

Nathan thought about this. He was hungry but did he want to see his big brother who had not sided with him those years ago. Or did he want to do what his mom had said and make amends while there was still time.

"Hey guys, can I come with yall?"

"Yeah man. But we should get going before Bevin rips my head off."

"That's right. And I think it's very big of you Nathan to go and see your brother. After all that's happened between you two." Bevin said as the three of them got into Nathan's car.

They arrived at where Nathan can only believe was Lucas' house. As they start walking up the pathway, Nathan became nervous. Nathan rarely becomes nervous but he just didn't know what to do in this situation. Was he suppose to let all be forgotten and just forgive his brother or was he gonna do something he might regret.

"Babe, you sure this is the right house?" Skills says to Bevin

"Yeah, this is the address that you gave me. Why, you don't think this is the right house?"

"Nah, I just have a feeling. Anyway come on, I'm hungry."

Nathan is the first one to reach the door and he hears people behind the door and rings the doorbell. But to his surprise it wasn't his brother who answered the door. It was his ex-wife. Nathan had no idea what was going on. All he could do is stand there and look at her.

"Are you gonna go in or are we just gonna stand outside all night?" Skills asked as he poked his head behind Nathan.

"Yea come in, come in." Haley said, and she moved aside as Nathan, Skills, and Bevin filled into the house.

Peyton and Brooke exchanged looks, and Mouth got very quite. Lucas looked from Haley to his brother and back again.

"So is it okay that we brought Nate?" Bevin asked.

"Yeah, it's okay. Come here Nate." Lucas said as he beckoned for his brother to come to him and give him a hug. Nathan walked over and gave him a hug, something he hasn't done for a very long time.

As everyone was watching this blissful reunion, Haley slipped past and went into the kitchen. She felt as if the room was getting smaller and smaller and she needed to get air before the walls caved in on her. She stood by the kitchen counter with her hands bracing for balance. All she had to do was get through this dinner. Maybe he won't ask about James, nor will anyone else.

"Are you okay?" Lucas said as he came into the kitchen with a worried look on his face.

"I don't know if I can do it Luke? I mean it was hard enough knowing he was in town, but having him in my house and so close to James, I don't know what to do Luke."

"You're going to leave this kitchen, go into the living room and tell everyone dinner is ready and we're going to have a nice dinner. No matter what history some of us may have. You know with the whole thing with my mom has showed me that life is to short and it is too short to hold grudges or regrets."

"Does that go for you and Dan too?"

"Haley don't go there." Lucas said firmly to her.

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Come here." Lucas said as he and Haley embraced each other.

They pulled away from each other slowly and looked each other in the eyes. Lucas then gave Haley a kiss on her forehead. And suddenly his lips made contact with Haley's. He didn't know how this happened but he knew that he didn't want it to stop. He pulled her into a closer embrace half expecting her to pull away but she didn't. To him it felt as if her body was calling him. This kiss felt as if it lasted forever but then the two pulled apart. Haley felt as if she was in a haze and Lucas was trying to focus his eyes on her. Their faces were so close that not even a sheet of paper could fit through. Just at that moment when the two were gazing into each others eyes, the kitchen door opened.

"Are we ready for din…?" Brooke said as she walked into the kitchen and seeing her two friends holding each other as if they were lovers.

Lucas and Haley quickly pulled apart and Haley flung herself to the sink as if she was going to do some dishes.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted anything, but we were just wondering if dinner was ready."

Lucas held his head down as though he was at a loss for words and Haley jumped in seeing that he wasn't going to say anything.

"You didn't, I'm bringing the food out now. You guys can have a seat in the dining room."

Brooke then left the kitchen giving Haley and Lucas one last look. Haley turned to Lucas and told him that he could go too. Lucas hesitated but then decided it was best, so he left the kitchen too.

Haley stood there for a moment trying to replay what had just happened in her head. For so many weeks she had wanted that to happen but is it what she really wanted. Did she want her friendship to change forever? Or was it that she was feeling what any woman her age would feel and Lucas just happened to be convenient? For now she couldn't deal with it so she just put these thoughts aside so she could get through this dinner. Haley grabbed the serving plate and left the kitchen. The kitchen where her whole life was changed with one kiss.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter Fifteen: Grand Theft Autumn**_

"Haley, this is really good." Skills said with his mouth full of food.

"Thanks, is everyone else's okay?"

Everyone nodded their heads in approval. Haley was pleased with this reaction but she had barely touched her food because all she could think about is that kiss. How could he have kissed her? What was going to happen now? As she picked over her food she kept looking over at Lucas. He seemed not to be too interested in his dinner either. Haley was wondering what he was thinking right now.

Everyone was finishing up their dinner and Haley started to clear off the table. Brooke decided to help Haley and to find out what the hell did she just saw. The two of them walk into the kitchen with the empty dishes.

"So are you going to tell me what the hell just happened?" Brooke said with her voice rising.

"Could you keep your voice down? Someone could hear you."

"But would that be the worst thing? Then maybe someone could knock some sense into you. How long has this been going on?"

"Nothing is going on. What you saw was a lapse in judgment."

"No, I'll tell you what I saw. I saw two of my friends holding each other as if they were about to have sex on this kitchen counter. Now what if it wasn't me that came in? What if it was Peyton or Nathan?"

"First of all, we were not about to have sex. And second, both of us are no longer with Peyton or Nathan."

"So what you're saying is that if Nathan walked in here when you and Lucas were about to rip each others clothes off that things would be all happy go lucky?"

Haley didn't have an answer, she just kept loading the dishwasher.

In the living room, everyone else sat there in silence. Nathan was mostly watching James play with Lily. Nobody said anything about James but Nathan just couldn't take his eyes off of him.

"Hey Lily, why don't you and James go play upstairs, okay?"

"Okay, come on James, we can play Dora and Diego."

As the two children went upstairs the adults waited for Haley and Brooke to return.

"So, Skills how's the team treating you?" asked Mouth trying to break the tension in the air.

"Oh, it's good. You know they're just riding me cause I'm the new guy but I love it."

All of a sudden they all heard shouting from the kitchen. They all looked at each other wondering what they should do. For some reason both Nathan and Lucas go to the kitchen door to see what was going on and what they heard changed the whole evening.

"So you kiss Lucas in this very kitchen and nothing is supposed to be said about it?" Brooke said as both Lucas and Nathan walk into the kitchen. Nathan turns to Lucas and gives him a look as though he was going to kill him.

"You two kissed?" Nathan said to Haley but kept his eyes on Lucas the whole time.

"You know what I was just joking, nobody kissed anyone. Okay lets just go and have cake." Brooke said with a nervous laughter in her voice

"Yes, we did kiss." Haley said with firmness in her voice. Next thing you know Nathan punches Lucas and Haley screams. Everyone else runs into the kitchen as Lucas and Nathan start to brawl right there in front of everyone. Lucas gets a few punches in but you can tell that he really doesn't want to fight Nathan. But Nathan can't control himself; he looks like he is going for blood. All the girls started screaming and Mouth and Skills tried to pull the two apart. Right then James and Lily come down because they heard all the noise.

"Bevin, get them out of here!" Haley screams over the yelling. As Bevin grabbed the kids by the hands Lucas shots at Nathan:

"Do you really wanna do this in front of your son?!"

Everyone comes to a stand still as Nathan, with is hands still ready to punch Lucas, looks from James to Haley and back to Lucas. Lucas starts to get up slowly to see if Nathan is going to continue this fight.

Nathan is stuck on stupid right now. _My son? He's my son?_ Nathan starts to get up off the floor and everyone backs up making sure not to make any sudden movements. Nathan stands and faces Haley.

"Is this true? Is he my son?"

Haley stands there not sure what to do. She looks at Brooke and then at Lucas and then nods her head yes.

Nathan drops to his knees not knowing what to do. Then James comes from behind Bevin and walks right up to Nathan and just looks at him. Haley and Brooke start to cry. Nathan just stares at James. Looks at his face and sees that those are his eyes looking right back him. This is his son.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter Sixteen: Shoot Down the Stars**_

"So I'll see you tomorrow at the hospital, me, Lily, and James will be there first thing."

"Thanks again Brooke for taking Lily and James tonight. It means a lot." Lucas said as he walked Brooke and Peyton to her car with Lily and James.

"Peyton can I talk to you for a minute?" Lucas said and they walked over to the side of the house.

"I just wanted to say sorry for what happened tonight. I didn't mean..."

"It's okay; you don't have to explain anything to me. I'm just happy that you didn't leave when you saw me."

"I wouldn't do that. I mean so much time has gonna by and we are both adults now, so the right thing to do is put that behind us."

Peyton gives Luke a hug and she gets in the car and they drive off.

Lucas stands on the lawn for a while wondering what is going to happen when he walks back into that house. The house where he changed the lives of the ones he loves.

"So you weren't going to even tell me that you kept the baby? Did you think what would happen if, no, when I found out about him? Haley, I had the right to know." Nathan said to her as they sat at the kitchen table.

"I didn't mean for you to find out this way. We did what we did for you." Haley said through her tears

"Whose we? You and Lucas?"

"No, me and your mother. We both felt that you needed to go on and fulfill your dreams. I didn't want to stand in your way."

"I can't believe you would think that keeping me away from my son would help me. I was hurting Haley. Do you know how many nights I stayed up thinking about you and our baby? You took away my choice Haley. And that's just not right."

"I just want you to know that I put you first Nathan. I wanted you to have everything that you dreamed of. I didn't want to stand in your way. What I did I did out of love for you."

"LOVE FOR ME?!! LOVE FOR ME?!! You call that love Haley? You kept my son from me, you divorced me, and now your hooking up with MY BROTHER." Nathan screamed at the top of his lungs.

Haley sat there crying even louder now when Lucas walked in. Nathan gets to his feet and Lucas backs up.

"I didn't come here to fight Nate. I just came to explain myself."

"Explain yourself? How could you? You're supposed to me my brother."

"I am your brother, but you and Haley are divorced and it shouldn't matter who she hooks up with even if it's me."

"Dude do you know how stupid you sound now. No wonder why it didn't work out with you and Peyton or you and Brooke." Nathan said laughing at what he had just said.

"If I didn't know that you were in a messed up place right now I would beat your ass to a pulp."

"Guys can we just talk this out." Haley said once she stopped crying. "Nathan, what happened between me and Lucas is between us. He's right, you and I are divorced and you have no saw in who I am involved with."

"So you're saying you're involved with him?"

"I'm not saying that, I'm just saying that it's not your place to discuss what goes on with me and him."

"But it's okay for _him_ to be involved in my son's life?"

"Hey, now just because you now know that James is your son doesn't give you the right to judge my parenting skills. I am his mother, I have raised him and I make the decision as to who is involved in his life. I know that you didn't know about him but that doesn't change the fact that I am his mother and regardless of what may or may not be going on with Lucas and I does not change the fact that Lucas has been like a father to James."

"But I AM HIS FATHER! Not Lucas. You can't just throw that up in my face. You made that decision to not let me be apart of his life. You know what I can't talk to you while _he_ is here, I'll come back later."

"Nathan don't just walk out now. We need to talk about this."

But it was too late; Nathan had walked out of the kitchen and left the house. He had forgotten he let Skills and Bevin take his car to go get theirs. So now he had to walk to the Rivercourt to go get his car back.

Now Haley and Lucas was left in the kitchen alone. Haley and Lucas stood at opposite sides of the kitchen. For a while no one said anything. Both had no idea how to explain what had just happen and neither wanted to be the first to try to.

"So are we gonna talk about what happened or just stare at each other till one of us has to use the bathroom?" Lucas said smiling.

Haley laughed, "I think we should. First I wanna know why did you do it?"

"Do what? Kiss you? I thought that was evident when I did it."

"For the sake of this conversation, let's say it wasn't evident; now tell me why you did it."

"Okay, I'll tell you only if after I tell you, you tell me why you kissed back. Deal?"

"Deal, now spill it."

"Okay, for that pass few days I have been having these feeling toward you. Feelings I couldn't explain. Every time I saw you I just needed to be with you. For some reason I couldn't deny it. And when I had you in my arms tonight I felt that I needed to act on those feelings to see if they were true. Now tell me why you kissed back."

Haley took a deep breath; "I kissed back because for some time I also have been having those same feelings for you. I kept telling myself that they can't be true but when you kissed me I had to see if there was something more."

"So was it something more to you?"

Haley thought about the question for a second. She wanted to say yes but she realized that if she did it would be a lie. When she kissed Lucas it felt good but it wasn't what she wanted.

"To be honest with you Luke, no."

"Thank God."

"What?"

"When I kissed you it's what I was wanting for a while but when I did it I realized that you're my best friend and that is why I was having these kinds of feelings. Having you and James in my life had become safe for me. I'm not saying that is a bad thing but when I thought of the idea of us together I just thought of how my life would have been if my mom and Keith had gotten together sooner. I do love you Hales but I think that this is still a platonic relationship."

"I love you too Luke." They both hugged for a moment and then Luke pulled away.

"Now what are we going to do about Nathan?" he said.

"I have the slightest idea." Haley said looking more worried than ever.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter Seventeen: I Write Sins Not Tragedies **_

Nathan parks in his mom's drive-way and gets out of the car. He has no idea what he's going to say to her but he knows that she is that last person that he wants to see. He walks into the house and slams the door. Deb, who was in the living room, jumped at the sound of the door and got up to see who it was.

"How come you didn't tell me about James?" He yells at her.

Deb sighs, "So you found out? Who told you?"

"What do you mean who told me? You should have told me. You're my mother and you kept this from me. You even helped plan it. How could you?"

"I'm so sorry Nathan. I meant to tell you as soon as you got back. But I didn't know how."

"First off you should have told me long before I came back. I have a son, a son I could've been there for."

"I know Nathan, but you can be there for him now. There is still time to be that father for him."

"You know mom, it's just really messed up because you know what you made me into? You've made me into Dan."

"Don't you dare say that. You could never be like your father. You are twice the man that he was."

"Yea but my son won't see it like that. You and Haley made sure of that. I can't sleep here tonight."

"Nathan, wait, where are you going to go?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter."

"Are you going to be at the hospital tomorrow? For Karen's surgery?"

"I don't know." Nathan said and walked out of the door. Deb stood there, crying as her son walked out on her.

The next morning, Lucas got up early and had some coffee. All he could think about was his mom's surgery. The events of last night took a back seat to that. As he drank his coffee he thought of how the day was going to go. He was going to meet Brooke and Peyton at the hospital with James and Lily. Haley said she was going to work but was going to be there right after. Skills and Mouth were going to be there. What about Nathan? Was Nathan going to even show up after what happened last night? Did he even want Nathan there? He couldn't worry about that right now he had to get ready to go to the hospital.

When Lucas arrived at the hospital Deb, Brooke and Peyton were already there with the kids. Everyone was piled in Karen's room waiting for the doctor's to arrive. Lucas was very nervous about this surgery. He didn't know what to expect. He sat next to his mother's bed with Lily in his lap and Brooke sat right next to him holding his hand. Karen looked at him with a smile. She was happy and terrified about what was going to happen to her in less than an hour. Deb and Peyton sat on the other side of Karen's bed and James sat in Deb's lap half sleep. Everyone sat in silence not really sure what to say. Lucas not being much of a religious person sat there and prayed. He prayed for his mother, his friends, and his brother. He closed his eyes and tears came down his face. He was not one to cry but he couldn't stop himself. Karen saw this and she wiped his tears away and gave him and Lily a hug. Right then Karen's team of doctors walked in headed by Dr. Goldstein.

"Good morning all. Good morning Karen. Are we ready to get started?" Dr. Goldstein said with a smile on her face.

Karen sat up and Dr. Goldstein and her team explain to Karen and everyone else what the procedure was and what was going to happen afterwards. The doctors left and the nurses came in because they had to prep her for surgery. Everyone gave Karen a hug and kiss and watched as they took her out of the room and rolled her down the hall. They all got their stuff and Karen's things and went to the surgical waiting room.

Now all they could do is wait. Skills and Mouth showed up a little while after. One hour passed, then two hours, and by the third hour Lucas started to get a little antsy. He started to pace the waiting room. Up and down, up and down. This was making Brooke very nervous. She got up and took his hand and led him to a chair. She led him to the chair next to Peyton. So Lucas was on the middle between Brooke and Peyton and he held both of their hands. He just wanted this to be over. It was like a surreal experience for him. Right now his mom is having major surgery. Right then Nathan walked into the waiting room. Lucas and Deb got up from their seats when they saw him.

Deb walked over to Nathan and gave him a hug. Nathan didn't respond to this. When she let go of him he walked over to Lucas. Skills and Mouth stood up just in case something was about to happen.

"You know I'm not here for you, I'm here for your mom."

"Yeah, I know, but about last night…"

"Like I said, I'm here for Karen which means have nothing to do with you. So anything about last night doesn't even matter right now. All you need to know is that after this we're done."

Nathan walked to the other side of the waiting room and sat down across from Lucas. Everyone felt the intensity in the room and just sat down. Nathan scanned the room and saw James and Lily playing in the corner. He didn't want to stare but he couldn't look away either. Peyton saw him looking at James and decided to get up and sit next to Nathan.

"You know he looks like you." Peyton whispered in his ear.

"Come take a walk with me." She said.

They both got up. Peyton asked if anyone needed anything and they said no so her and Nathan walked out of the waiting room and went outside.

"You know its weird being in this hospital. With my mom and everything and know Karen, its just weird."

"I know this must be hard for you. To be back here and everything."

"At first I thought so but now not really. I'm learning how to deal with my past, present, and future. So why are you so mad with Lucas?"

"You saw what happened last night."

"Yea, I saw two adults do something that adults do."

"Yea but he's my brother and she's…"

"She's what? Your "Ex" wife? Nathan you two are no longer together and it shouldn't matter what and who she does anything with."

"Yea but what about James? He's my son and she kept that from me."

"I agree that keeping James from you was wrong but her kissing Lucas has nothing to do with James. Maybe you're jealous of Lucas."

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous of him? Because he kissed Haley?"

"No not because of that, because he was there with James. Lucas was basically a father to James. And I think that upsets you."

"Of course that upsets me. I had a son who I thought was gone but he wasn't. She kept him from me and decided to raise him with Lucas."

"Wait, I don't think that she made the choice of raising him with Lucas versus you. I just think that Lucas was there. Just how Keith was there for him."

"Whatever, the point is now I have a son and what am I going to do?"

"What you're going to do is apologize to Lucas and then you're going to try and work out some type of agreement with Haley. He is your son and you do have rights. It's up to you if you're going to enforce them."

"Why do I have to apologize to Lucas? I'm done with him."

"You need to apologize because it is not his fault that he is living his life. If him and Haley have something going on then that's that. But if you ask me I don't think they do."

"What makes you say that?"

"I just have a feeling. Let's go back in and please don't say anything to Lucas. He's going through enough right now and the last thing he needs to worry about is you."

Nathan nods his head and they go back into the hospital. They get to the waiting room just as the doctor comes out. Lucas jumps up and asks how she's doing. Dr. Goldstein's face doesn't look very optimistic at this point.

"Okay, we removed the tumor from her kidneys but the kidneys sustained a lot of damage. Right now we have her on a dialysis machine to help her kidneys function. As of now we are going to go to plan B."

Lucas looked at her as if what she just said was German, because it just didn't register with him at all.

"So what you're saying is that she is going to have to have a transplant?"

"Yes, exactly. I know this is hard to take but that is why we prepared for this. Now we have your mom on dialysis, but she can't stay on it for a long period of time. So what we wanna do id test family right away. I wanna start with you but we're not going to test Lily because of her age. Also I called your father in because he said to call him if anything."

"My father?"

"Yes, Dan Scott. He came in earlier this week and I told him about your mother's transplant and he said that he would do anything to help. He said that he would come in and get tested if needed, ah, here he is now."  
Lucas turned around and there he was. The man that was evil as the devil himself. Dan Scott had just walked into the waiting room. No one moved, no one talk, everyone just stood there and looked at him. Dan Scoot has returned to Tree Hill.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen: Misery Business

_**Chapter Eighteen: Misery Business **_

"LUCAS!! NATHAN!! STOP!!" Brooke and Peyton yelled as they tried to pull both brothers off their father.

At the sight of Dan started a spark in both of them. Lucas walked right up to him and punched him. Nathan then jumped in and took a punch for himself. Both of then were going at it. However, the weird thing is that Dan was not trying to protect himself. He wasn't fighting back. Skills, Mouth, Brooke, and Peyton all tried to get the two of them off of Dan. Dr, Goldstein had called security and they came right away. They had broken up the fight and Nathan and Lucas were escorted out of the hospital.

"How the hell could he just show up like that?" Lucas said as he straightened his shirt.

"You know that's just like Dan. Just to do the opposite of what everyone expects."

"I can't believe we got thrown out and he's still up there."

Just as Lucas said that Brooke, Peyton, and Deb came out of the hospital doors.

"Are you guys okay?" Brooke said to them.

"Yea we're okay. What's going on in there?" Lucas asked.

"The doctor just said that you guys just need time to cool off. But right now she's testing Dan and Haley for possible matches for your mom."

"They can't do that! I don't want him to do anything with my mom. Don't I have the right to choose who gets tested?"

"Actually you don't. I know you don't want Dan there. None of us do. But it is highly unlikely that he is a match to your mom. So if he just gets tested it does no one any harm. Don't give me that look Luke. I don't want him here either; I don't even know how he got here. But we can't change anything right now."

"Mom, do you think we can get back up there?"

"I don't know. I'll go find out." Peyton interrupted.

She grabbed Brooke's hand and they both went back into the hospital. The rest of them sat on a bench right outside the hospital doors.

"I can't believe this. First all the stuff that went on last night, then my mom's surgery, and now this." Lucas said to no one in particular.

"Now what happened between you two last night? Nathan?" Deb asked.

"Ask Lucas, he should have a lot to say."

"Can someone please tell me what's going on here?"

"Yea, Lucas and Haley are together. They were making out last night at dinner." Nathan told his mother

"First of all get your facts straight. Haley and I are not together."

"So you're saying that you two didn't kiss last night?"

"I'm not saying that. We did kiss but after you finished using my face for a sparing partner and me and Haley talked, we realized that the kiss really didn't mean anything."

"A kiss always means something."

"I know it does, but that kiss didn't mean anything romantic. At first I thought it did but then realized that it meant nothing more than just a kiss between good friends."

"I don't know what to believe anymore. I come back here and find out that I have a son and that you and Haley are now _kissing friends_. I'm supposed to believe you? My brother who was basically raising my son and decided not to mention it? And you; you're supposed to be my mother."

"Nathan, I know you're hurt and I don't blame you. You have a right to feel what you're feeling. Trust me, there were many times when I wanted to tell you. But how do you think that phone call would've started "_Umm, hey Nate. I'm just calling to tell you that Haley decided to keep the baby and me and your mom are helping her raise him. Oh and how's the weather?"_ Right as Lucas said this Brooke and Peyton returned.

"Okay, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?" Brooke said.

"Good news." Lucas and Deb said in sync.

"Okay, your mom is now awake. She's in the ICU."

"That's great, that's really great. Now what's the bad news?"

"After testing Haley and Dan they found a match. Dan is a perfect match for your mom's kidney."

"WHAT!! That's not possible! I'm going up there right now. I don't care."

"Lucas wait!" Peyton called after him but she was too late, Lucas was already running up the stairwell to the 4th floor.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Eighteen: Misery Business

_**Chapter Nineteen: Defying Gravity**_

"Where is he? Where is that bastard?" Lucas said when he reached the waiting room. Haley and the kids where sitting there. Lucas looked around the room looking for Dan. Peyton and the others came running in the waiting room right behind Lucas. All of them looked out of breath from running up the stairs.

"He's not here. He went with the doctor to discuss some things. Skills and Mouth also left. They had to get back to work. You guys sit down I'll get you some water." Haley said with a calm to her voice because she didn't know what exactly Lucas was going to do.

"Where's the doctor? I want to talk to her." Lucas demanded.

"I'm right here Lucas. I can see you haven't calmed down." Dr. Goldstein said as she entered the waiting room.

"Yeah, I'm not calm because I didn't authorize _Dan_ to be tested and you went along and tested him anyway."

"I didn't know that you were my patient. From my understanding Karen Roe was the patient. And she is competent enough to make her own medical decisions."

"Are you trying to tell me that my mother approved Dan to be tested? I don't think so."

"Believe what you want Lucas but I only have my patient's bets interest at heart. And if Dan Scott is the only match we have your mother has said that he is the one to go with."

Lucas was only half listening to what the doctor was saying. All these things that were going on were just too much for him to handle. He went over to the chairs to sit down and to really wrap his head around what was going on.

"It's okay. I know that this is a lot to handle. But all you need to think about now is your mothers' well being. If this is her only option and chance you just need to go with it. Ultimately your mother is the one with the decision. Now I'm going to go see if I can get a rush on your mothers test results. In a little while you can go in and see her. But understand that she has just had major surgery and she is still in a lot of pain so when you go in there please keep your emotions at bay."

Dr. Goldstein got up and left the waiting area. Lucas just sat there and he knew that everyone was looking at him just waiting to see what he would do. He couldn't deal with all of that right now. He just wanted someone to tell him what he should do. Someone to tell him it was ok. Right then Peyton came over and sat next to him. She took his hand and held it in hers. She whispered to him that everything is ok and that he will get through this. It was as if she had read his mind. Lucas just squeezed her hand a little tighter. Everyone now sat down knowing that he wouldn't react. Then Lily and James walked over to Lucas and hugged him. Lucas was on the verge of tears. Seeing this also brought Haley and Broke to tears.

"Umm, I'm going to see if I can get tested for Karen." Nathan said.

"I'll come with you. Are you guys gonna be okay?" Brooke said to Lucas and Peyton.

Peyton looked up at her and then looked at Lucas, who was now looking at Lily and James sit on the floor together, and nodded. Brooke and Nathan went off to the nurses' station and the head nurse there led them to an examining room.

"Lucas do you want me to take the kids home? I mean they don't have to be here for this." Deb said to Lucas in a soft tender voice. Lucas didn't answer. He just stared off into space. Peyton looked at Lucas and then at Deb.

"I think that's a good idea. Don't you Lucas?" Peyton said.

Deb nodded her head and got the kids' coats and gathered them up. Deb told them to go give Lucas and Peyton a hug and then they'll go.

"Luke I'll miss you." Lily said as she hugged her big brother. And Lucas didn't hug back. He couldn't. He couldn't hug is own sister back because it hurt so much. It hurt so much because he had so much hate for Dan that he was willing to talk his mom out of accepting the Kidney from him. He couldn't deal with that shame. Lily finally let go and she left with Deb and James.

"Lucas are you okay?" Haley said finally moving over to sit closer to Peyton and Lucas.

"Am I okay? No Haley, I'm not okay." Lucas said with his voice raising

"I know you're mad Luke but you don't have to take that out on any of us. We are just trying to be here for you. The doctor did say that your mom was awake. Why don't you go and see her and maybe you can feel a little better." Haley said. Lucas didn't even respond, he just got up and went through the double doors to see his mother.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Eighteen: Misery Business

_**Chapter Twenty: Ready For Love**_

Lucas walked down this long hallway with rooms on his left side. He looked inside them through the glass doors and saw all different kinds of people. Most of them hooked-up to ventilators and others with family by their bedsides. Then he came to the end of the hallway and saw his mom in the last room. She wasn't on a ventilator but there were wires connected to her. She was lying there very peaceful. She looked as if she had no care in the world. She looked like an angel to him. She was in a single room which he thought was good because he really didn't want to be around anyone else but his mother. He sat down in the chair that was next her bed. For a moment he just sat there looking at her, thinking about all the times she was there for him. All the times she sat by his bedside, all the times that she would come and tuck him in at night when he was a boy. She was the first love of his life. She was the one that he loved unconditionally. And now her she is, in this situation that he can't fix for her. He wanted so badly to make it all go away, to make her healthy and stronger than before but he couldn't. All he could do was be there for her and help her through this time but he couldn't even do that. He felt useless and he felt so guilty for even considering for a second that he would let his mother stay in this condition over the hate that he had for Dan. Sitting here and looking at his mother made him realize that it didn't matter where she got her kidney from as long as she got one and she would get better. Thinking of this gave Lucas a rush of guilt and he started to cry. He took his mother's hand in his and just cried. Then he felt her hand move.

"Mom? Mom? It's me Lucas. I'm here, oh I'm here." He said as he wiped away his tears.

"Hi." Karen whispered.

Lucas just kept crying. He had so much to tell her but he couldn't put it into words.

"It's okay Lucas. It's okay. Have you spoken to the doctor?"

"Yeah I have. She told me that you're doing okay for now but you need a transplant. But mom we don't have to talk about that right now. You need your rest."

"Lucas, I know that you know about Dan being tested. I know you must be asking yourself why I allowed him to be tested. But you need to understand…." Karen started to cough and Lucas handed her some water that was by her bed.

"Mom we don't have to talk about this. I know now that if you decided this that this is what you want done and that I should support you.

"Thank you. You know I love you and Lily more than anything right?"

"Yeah I know mom. I love you too. And Lily loves you too. We just want you to fight this and get better. We are here for you every step of the way."

Lucas leans over and gives his mom a kiss on her forehead. Karen looks up at him and smiles and then she starts to cough. The coughing gets worse and her blood pressure starts to rise. The machines start to make all these beeping noises and Karen grabs at her chest. Lucas looks at his mom and doesn't know what to do. He runs to the door and calls for the nurse. Then a bunch of nurses and doctors come in and shove Lucas out of the way.

"Oh My God. What's happening? Mom, Mom?" Lucas screams.

"Someone get him out of here!" Yelled the doctor and a nurse pushed Lucas out of the room and closed the door.

He just stood there while the doctors where trying to get his mom heart to work. Next thing he sees is the monitor go flat line. The doctors shock Karen and Lucas feels that he is about to loose his mom. The doctors keep shocking her. And nothing happens.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Eighteen: Misery Business

_**Chapter Twenty-One: Heavily Broken**_

"Charge to 500, come on Karen." The doctor yells and the nurse charges to paddles and they shock her. Beeping starts on the machine. "Okay we got a rhythm. Go get Dr. Goldstein and then update Mr. Scott" the doctor orders.

"Which Scott should I tell? The son or the father?" the nurse asked.

Lucas took a deep breath because it felt as if he wasn't breathing the whole time. The doctor turned to the nurse and gave her a very aggravated look and said the son. The nurse shuffled out of the room bumping right into Lucas.

"What is going on with my mom? Is she going to be okay?"

"The doctors are in there with her now. It looks like they might have to take her back to surgery. Now I have to go get Dr. Goldstein you can wait right here okay?"

Lucas nodded his head while the nurse rushed down the hallway. Lucas just leaned up against the wall and he couldn't really grasp what was happening. He didn't want to think the worse but he just did. What if his mom died? Then he and Lily would be in a world without their parents. He didn't want to think about it he just wanted to close his eyes and forget any of this happened. He just wanted to close his eyes and be taken back to a time where things were so simple. His mom was healthy, Keith was alive, and he was with the girl he truly loved.

"Lucas, Lucas?"

Lucas looked up and it was Dr. Goldstein.

"Lucas, we are taking your mother to surgery now to have her transplant with your father. There is no time to argue about this. This is a now or never situation."

"Okay, do what you have to do. Can I see her before you take her?"

"Yes but you have to come with us because there isn't a big window of opportunity."

Lucas said okay as they wheeled Karen out of the room toward the elevator and he walked with them and held her hand. Thinking that this could be the last time he ever sees his mom he just held her hand. They got to the elevator and he had to let go.

"You can wait in the surgery waiting room, okay? Everything should be okay Lucas. Just have faith." Dr. Goldstein said to him as the elevator doors closed behind them.

Lucas made the long walk back to the waiting room. He had forgot that everyone was waiting there and he had to tell them what had just happened. He walked through the double doors and saw them all sitting there. There were now other people he didn't know sitting in there. He thought that these people were probably going through what he was going through right now. Not knowing if their loved ones were going to be okay, if they were going to come back to them healthy and whole. For some reason he felt close to these people that he had never met. He felt they all shared this common thread of pain. Next thing he knew Haley was coming up to him.

"Is everything okay? How is she?" Lucas just stood there with a blank look on his face not knowing what to say to her. He just fell to the floor. Everyone just rushed over to him. Nathan and Brooke went to get him up and put him in a chair.

"What happened Luke? Is Karen okay?" Peyton said as she took the seat right next to him.

"She flat lined and they took her back to surgery for the transplant. I have to go upstairs and wait." Lucas said in a monotone voice.

The girls gasped as Lucas said this and Peyton tightened her hold on Lucas's hand.

"Alright, let's go. We're here for you and Karen, Luke. What floor is it?" Brooke said in a defiant tone and led the way to the elevator. Everyone got up and left and Lucas leaned on Nathan for support because he felt like his legs were going to cave in. While they all were waiting for the elevator Lucas turned around and saw Dan walking right toward them. Lucas could feel Nathan get a little more tense since his hand was on his shoulder. Lucas turned to Nathan and said it was okay. Lucas walked you to Dan and looked him square in the eye.

"Thank You. Thank You for doing this for my mom. This doesn't change what you have done in the past."

"You're welcome Lucas. All I want to do is help. I am a changed man and I want to make things right. I didn't come here for forgiveness and this act of kindness has no strings attached. I just felt that this is probably my only chance to do any good for the people that I have hurt in the past. I know I can't take back what I have done but trust me when I say that if I could I would. So thank you for allowing me to help you and _your_ family with this." Dan said and then turned the corner to take the stairs up to the surgery floor.

"Wow, I was not expecting to hear that ever come out of Dan's mouth." Nathan said in awe of hearing his father.

"The elevator is here guys, let's go up." Haley said and they all piled into the elevator and went up.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Eighteen: Misery Business

_**Chapter Twenty-Two: We Are Broken**_

"Do you want something to eat before you go to the hospital? I can make you anything you want." Haley said.

"No, I'm okay. I just gotta get to the hospital."

"Yeah, but Luke you haven't eaten in like 2 days. And you can't be there for your mom if you are passed out from hunger and dehydration."

"Hales, I'm fine. I'll grab something at the hospital. The doctor said that she should be waking up soon and once that happens we can see what we need to do. Are you gonna come or are you going to stay home with James?"

"I think I'm going to stay home. I wanna spend some time with James and explain some things to him."

"That sounds good. Deb said she will watch Lily for me. She said she doesn't think it's so good to keep her in the hospital and I think she's right. I just pray that she is going to pull through this." Luke said as he sat at Haley's kitchen table.

"I know, I know. I'll be right back, I gotta get Jamie up."

"It's okay, I should be heading off anyway. I'll call you if anything." Lucas said as he got up from the table and was walking toward the door. When he opened the door two people were standing at the door about to ring the bell.

"What are you two doing here?" Lucas said.

"I went by your house and you were already gone so I figured you were here. I wanted to know if I could come by the hospital with you." Peyton said in a very low voice not sure of how Lucas was going to respond.

"What about you? What's your story?"

"I came by to talk to Haley." Nathan said very defiantly.

Lucas stepped to one side to let Nathan in the house as he stepped out of it.

"Haley is upstairs with Jamie. I guess you can wait right here for her. And if I find out anything went down I will be ending this little truce we have going on here" said Lucas with some base to his voice.

Nathan just looked at Lucas and the door closed behind him as looked to the stair case to see Haley coming down it.

"What are you doing here?" She said in a harsh tone.

"I came here to talk to you. I figured I'd come here because it would give you less of a chance of running away from me."

"I don't have to run away, I could just kick your ass out of my house."

"Oh come on Haley don't be like that. You know that we have a lot to talk about."

"That may be true but that doesn't mean that we are going to talk about them. Nathan, the past is the past and I really don't wanna bring any of that stuff up. I've moved on. I'm perfectly happy." She lied.

Nathan stood there looking at her with disbelief on his face. He couldn't, no he wouldn't believe that for one second.

"So what you're telling me is that you want nothing to do with me and that James isn't really my son?"

"I'm not saying that. James and I have been doing fine. _We_ don't need you coming in here on your white horse trying to save someone. You always do this Nathan. Damn it!" Haley said as her temper started to rise.

"Save someone? IF you wouldn't have deceived me in the first place we wouldn't be at this point right now. We would be the family we were suppose to be and you wouldn't be going around and making out with my brother." Nathan said in equal anger.

"Keep your voice down! Like I told you already, me happening to kiss Lucas has nothing to do with you. And for the record, _again_, Lucas and I are _NOT_ together. I just don't wanna go there with you Nathan."

"So if this is not about Lucas, what is this about then? Why did you decide that it was better to lie to me all these years about my son? Did you really think what you were doing was best?"

"No" Haley said is a voice that was almost a whisper.

Nathan moved closer to Haley and she took a step back.

"When I decided that your dreams were more important to me than my own it seemed like it was the only option that I had. I loved you so much that I didn't want anything to come between you and your dreams."

"My dreams were of you and our son being a family."

"No Nathan, your dreams were of you becoming the basketball star that you were destined to be. I didn't want to trap you in a life that you would grow to regret."

Nathan stared at her with disbelief across his face.

"How could you say that you were trapping me? I loved you more than basketball, more than life it self. My dreams meant nothing if you weren't there with me." He grabbed her hand, and as she tried to pull away he just held it tighter.

"Nathan, we can't go back. Too much time has passed and too many things have happened. I am very happy with the life that I have right now. I am no longer that girl you married in High School. I made a decision and I have learned to live with it and have made the best of it. I know if I could take back the pain that I have caused you I would but we can't try and relive it. It would just make things worse for me and you."

"But what about Jamie? Do you really think he shouldn't get a chance to know his _real_ father?"

"I understand that now that you know the truth it makes no sense to keep you away from him. But I need you to know one thing and one thing only."

"Sure, Sure. What is it?"

"The only relationship that needs to be building is between you and Jamie. There is no longer you and me."

"I completely understand." Nathan said but just to say the words caused him so much pain. He put a smile on his face so she would have a chance to see the pain he felt in his heart.

"Let me go get him, wait right here." Haley said before she walked up the stairs. When she got to the top of the landing she gasped and wrapped her arms around herself. Trying to get a hold of herself and trying to hold back the tears that were on the edge of her eyes. She thought that saying that wouldn't hurt her as much as it actually did. The hole in her heart where Nathan previously occupied now grew a little larger and the pain grew along with it.


End file.
